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Costa Rica increases medical devices exports to Asia, Europe and the United States

AUGUST 1st 2018

•They are one of the main products that boosted the Costa Rican economy during 2018´s first semester.

•The sector represented 27% of goods exports and increased 13% during this period.

San José, Costa Rica. August 1, 2018. During this year’s first semester, the exports of the medical devices industry increased its presence in Japan, Netherlands and the United States. This behavior is shown on recent results published by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (PROCOMER).

The medical devices exports to Japan increased 82%, followed by Netherlands with 53% and the United States with 4%. The total exports of this sector represented 27% of all the goods exported by Costa Rica, locating it in second place, since the agricultural sector represented 28%. The Life Sciences sector exports increased 13% compared to last year, which represents $181 million more.

The total value of the medical devices exports was $1,532 million. This increase makes this sector one of the main goods that boost the country’s economy.

Growth. “Costa Rica’s medical devices industry is one of the sectors that experimented a constant growth, even after the 2008 recession. This is due to, mainly, Costa Rica’s human talent and the country’s reputation, making it into an ideal provider to the world. This success goes hand to hand with an ecosystem of providers, academia and institutional aid that make the country a magnet for more companies to establish in Costa Rica”, said Jorge Sequeira, Managing Director of the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE).

The medical devices exports have grown three times compared to 2007, which turn Costa Rica into Latin America’s second biggest exporter within the industry.

According to CINDE, part of the medical devices exported by Costa Rica are: medical instruments, disposables, therapeutic devices and diagnostic equipment.

The Life Sciences sector has grown noticeably: last year it had 72 companies in the country compared to 8 in 2000, which means it grew 9 times more.

Life Sciences Forum. On October 15 and 16, Costa Rica will host the fourth edition of the Life Sciences Forum 2018, in the recently inaugurated Costa Rica Convention Center. It will gather more than 500 people from the United States, Latin America and Europe.

How does artificial intelligence, automation, big data or cyber security affect the medical devices and life sciences world? Are the medical companies, global leaders, changing to treat better the patients in the interconnected world? Is Costa Rica part of these global changes in the industry? These and other topics will be part of the forum which central theme is: “Converging technologies lead the future of MedTech.”

More than 80 companies will be part of the forum’s exhibition, as well as business meetings, thematic plenaries and interactive spaces with new technologies.

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The Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE) is a private, non profit and apolitical organization that provides investment services for free. During its 35 years, CINDE has attracted more than 280 high-tech companies to Costa Rica, including worldwide leaders such as: Intel, Procter and Gamble, ICU Medical, Baxter, St. Jude Medical, Western Union and many others.